The bracket for the 2026 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was made official on Monday morning, and the seventh-seeded Valparaiso University men's basketball team will face off with 10^th-seeded Indiana State in the opening round on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
 
The winner of Thursday's matchup will advance to play second-seeded Bradley on Friday at 6 p.m. Valpo would feed into the 5 p.m. semifinal on Saturday prior to Sunday's 11 a.m. title game.
 
After finishing with the program's highest win total and highest winning percentage in league play since joining the Missouri Valley Conference prior to the 2017-2018 season, head coach Roger Powell Jr.'s team will look to continue to build on its momentum this week in St. Louis. The team also attained its highest regular-season win total since 2016-2017 and goes into Arch Madness having won four of its final five regular-season games.
 
Single-session and all-session tickets are available by clicking here.
 
Fans are invited to join a sendoff at Union Station Hotel in St. Louis. This fan gathering will begin at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday with the team expected to depart in the 4:30-5 p.m. range with exact details TBD. Click here to register and for more information. Fans only need to register and pay the $25 fee for the sendoff if they would like to enjoy food and receive two drink tickets courtesy of the Valparaiso University Career & Alumni Network. Otherwise, fans can show up for the sendoff without registering and free of charge.
 
Thursday's game will air on the MVC-TV Network through Gray Media, including on Fox Chicago+ in the Chicago television market. Broadcasters Scott Warmann (play-by-play), Kevin Lehman (analyst) and Adam Emmenecker (sideline) will have the call.
 
For fans needing assistance with transportation to Arch Madness, Valpo Athletics is excited to offer a FREE shuttle service from campus to the Amtrak Station in Joliet, Illinois, on Thursday, March 5, to board the 301 Lincoln Service Line train scheduled to depart the station at 8:12 a.m. CT. Fans should arrive on campus at 6 a.m. on Thursday to begin the journey. The train is scheduled to arrive at the Gateway Station, which is located within walking distance from the Enterprise Center and Union Station Hotel, at 12:01 p.m. CT.
 
Please call the Valpo Ticket Office at 219-464-5233 to reserve your spot on the shuttle and receive additional information. Fans may purchase tickets for the train on Amtrak's website.
 
Please Note: Fans will be responsible for their own transportation and lodging in St. Louis. A shuttle returning to campus will be available to fans on the morning after Valpo's final game in the tournament OR following the completion of the tournament on Sunday.
 
See the list below for returning trains and their departing times from St. Louis' Gateway Station to Joliet:
 
Friday, March 6th - 302 Lincoln Service, 6:35am
Saturday, March 7th - 302 Lincoln Service, 6:35am
Sunday, March 8th - 302 Lincoln Service, 6:35am OR 318 Lincoln Service Missouri River Runner, 2:55pm (Post Championship)
 
2026 STATE FARM MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Thursday-Sunday, March 5-8 • Enterprise Center • St. Louis, Missouri 
THURSDAY, MARCH 5
3:30 pm -- GAME 1 (#8 Southern Illinois vs. #9 Drake)
6 pm* -- GAME 2 (#7 Valparaiso vs. #10 Indiana State)
8:30 pm* -- GAME 3 (#6 UNI vs. #11 Evansville)
FRIDAY, MARCH 6
12 pm -- GAME 4 (#1 Belmont vs. Winner Game 1)
2:30 pm* -- GAME 5 (#4 Murray State vs. #5 UIC)
6 pm -- GAME 6 (#2 Bradley vs. Winner Game 2)
8:30 pm* -- GAME 7 (#3 Illinois State vs. Winner Game 3)
SATURDAY, MARCH 7
2:30 pm -- GAME 8 (Game 4 & 5 winners)
5 pm* -- GAME 9 (Game 6 & 7 winners)
SUNDAY, MARCH 8
11 am -- MVC Championship Game
* Times of games are approximate